Nosebleeds

I walked down the hallway of my apartment, gazing at the show of light before me outside my window. I came to a stop at my bathroom and walked to the sink. The cold tiles sent shivers down my spine. I went to the bathroom this hour of the night because I was rudely awoken by a stream of blood pouring down my sleeping face. I recently went to a tropical climate and thought I had a nosebleed because of the humidity change. I grazed the tissue under my nose, hopefully stopping the flow. It continued for what seemed like 1-2 minutes. I was annoyed now. I hesitated, then stuffed a little bit of the tissue up my nose, hoping it would stop. All I got in response was a slight tickling in my nostrils.

The day went on. Of course, I kept on getting the nose bleeds sporadically throughout the day. My work day in the office was over and I needed to work overtime. I walked along the empty rooms, like I was expecting someone to pop out at me. Of course it never happened. That's not how my story goes. Anyway, I got to the elevator and pressed the lobby button. The elevator slowly descended with a thunk. It was a very slow elevator and I was on the 16th floor. I got a nosebleed again. I had no tissues this time, so I unfolded the wrists of my suit to wipe my nose. The nosebleed suddenly stopped—just in time for the elevator to reach my stop. I walked out and the secretary stared at me. Her eyes dreadfully followed me on my exit. Shortly after I exited the building, I pondered what the woman was staring at.

Was there still blood on my face?

Surely there wasn't. I wiped it all off.

I looked into the side mirror of my car and saw that my nose was swollen up. The upper regions were the size of a grape. Oh god, that's why she was staring at me. I drove down the lonely highway at about 10:34 PM. Making my way to the hospital, I noticed that the swollen region was getting bigger. I know I started to speed because my nose was throbbing with pain. When I got there the woman at the front desk stared at me. When I met her gaze, she whispered something unintelligible into a phone. Shortly after, a nurse with a stretcher came out and asked if I could walk. I responded with a polite yes and she pushed it to the side. I walked down the hallway, staring at my own reflection's eyes in the marble tiles.

The doctor examined my nose and asked if I had any allergies. I denied having any and did some quick blood tests. A few minutes after he rushed into the room, he was clicking his pen rapidly. He was worried. He asked me if I had went on vacation anywhere tropical.

"Yes, I went on vacation in Cuba about five days ago," I responded.

He then told me that an unknown species of parasite must have entered my nostril while I was vacationing and laid eggs inside. I was horrified. He then told me that the larvae must have hatched and fed on my nasal tissue for food. I was then taken to the operating room to get surgery on my nose. They couldn't reach them by a slice of the skin.

I was then put on a hospital bed and injected with some drug so I wouldn't feel pain. When I woke up the nurse said that they were correct and had removed four large parasites from my nasal cavity. The nurse continued blabbing about how they'd discovered a new species. But what I was focused on was that the tray, with the insects on them, wasn't a container. The worm-like creatures were writhing away quickly towards the open window. They all escaped into the busy morning streets and I was the only one who noticed.